The Kiss that Didn't Work
by Marzos
Summary: What if Hans wasn't evil? An AU story exploring how that might have changed parts of the movie, and everything after. First attempt at writing, so I hope you enjoy and leave a review!
1. Hans and Anna

"Elsa struck me with her ice powers," Anna said, shivering in Hans' arms.

"You said she'd never hurt you!"

"I was wrong," Anna might have cried, if she'd had the strength. She just continued shivering as Hans set her down on the couch.

"She…she froze my heart. And only an act of true love can save me—"

"A true love's kiss…" Hans answered, finally understanding. When Anna nodded weakly, Hans didn't waste any time. He put his hand on her cheek, leaning in slowly and gently. With a smile, he pressed his lips against hers passionately. Hans poured everything he could into the kiss, closing his eyes and caressing her cheek with his thumb. They broke apart after a few moments.

Anna waited for the warmth to spread through her body; for Elsa's magic to wash away. Staring into her fiance's eyes, she wanted to believe it had worked. But she shuddered again, violently.

"Hans…" Anna said, "I…I don't think it worked."

"What? No!" Hans kissed her again, more urgently this time. Still nothing happened. The prince kept kissing her, finally stopping when he ran out of breath.

"I don't understand," Hans said, "Why isn't it working?"

"Kristoff was right," Anna whispered.

"Anna, what do you mean?"

"This isn't true love," Anna said. "That's why it didn't work."

Hans got up. He looked at Anna, horrified, like she had just slapped in the face. "Anna, you know that isn't true. I _love_ you. I asked you to marry me!"

"Hans, we got engaged a few hours after we met. You barely know anything about me!"

"I know plenty of things about you."

"You don't. Like…what's my favorite food?" Anna spoke faster, panic overtaking her, repeating Kristoff's words. "Or my last name? Or my eye color? You don't even know my shoe size—"

"Shoe size doesn't matter!" Hans said, after turning red and sputtering for a few moments.

Anna paused. She tried to laugh weakly, remembering how she had given that exact same answer to Kristoff, only for it to turn into a vicious cough. Hans' shoulders slumped. He put his head in his hands, looking like he was about to sob—but then he looked back up.

"Your sister," he said coldly, "Will _not_ get away with this," he pulled his sword out of his belt, leaving the room.

"Hans, wait!" Anna shouted (though in her condition, it was barely audible) and tried to follow, only for her to collapse immediately. Using all of her remaining strength, the princess lifted herself up off the floor and limped after him, hoping she could somehow get to him before it was too late.

* * *

It seemed like she had been outside a lifetime ago, even though it couldn't have been more than a day.

At least Anna thought so. Honestly she had lost track of time. She remembered struggling through the blizzard to find Elsa…jumping in the way of the sword when she saw Hans about to strike her…and then everything went black. When she woke up Elsa's arms were wrapped around her as she sobbed, and after Anna realized she was healed, everything worked itself out from there.

Since then she had been taken to her bedroom, following Elsa's orders not to leave the room and its fire. After all, just because Anna didn't freeze from Elsa's magic, didn't mean that walking around in the blizzard hadn't given her hypothermia anyway. Anna knew that she was in no condition to walk around yet, but still, she'd been locked up in that castle for 18 years; she did not appreciate being told she couldn't even leave her room now that the gates had finally been open.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," she said. She expected her sister perhaps, or a servant coming to add extra logs to the fire.

What she didn't expect to see was Hans. He walked in, hands clasped in front of him, smiling sheepishly.

"…Hello, Anna," he said. Anna stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Hello?" she said, unsure of what she should say. It seemed that the prince didn't either, because they both stayed in silence for a few moments before Hans cleared his throat.

"I talked to your sister," he said. "She gave me permission to see you—I apologized for what I did of course."

"Oh." For once Anna was at a loss for words. She remembered, only a few days ago, when she talked to him for hours and never ran out of anything to say—now she didn't even know where to start.

"Elsa is wonderful," he said, struggling to think of something to say. "I couldn't believe she forgave me, but she said she understood. You know, that I did for you." He walked over to Anna's bed, where she was sitting wrapped in a blanket, and sat down. He left a foot of space in between them.

"I suppose," He said, "We _would_ get along better when I'm not chasing her with a sword."

He chuckled but his laughter trailed off awkwardly when he realized Anna wasn't laughing.

"Well, I'm definitely, uh, doing better," Anna answered.

"Listen, Anna…" Hans rubbed the back of his head, not looking her in the eyes. "I wanted to tell you I was sorry. For everything."

"Hans, if Elsa forgave you—"

"I've been thinking about what you said, about us getting engaged too quickly," he continued. "Well, when I met you, I told you about my twelve brothers. I'd been living in their shadows my entire life—and some of them didn't even act like I existed." He cleared his throat. "I think that was why I asked you to marry me so quickly. My entire life I've wanted to get out from under their shadow and live my own life. So when I met you, and we had such a great time together—I jumped at the chance."

He slowly got back up. "I also wanted to say goodbye; I'll be going back to my homeland tonight. I thought after everything that happened...it was best I should just go."

"Hans, wait!" Anna grabbed him by the wrist as he turned to go toward the door. He looked shocked for a moment, looking down at Anna's face, which was contorted in an expression of grim determination. He knew at that moment, whether he liked it or not, he wasn't leaving her room just yet.

"Hans, I don't want you to leave," Anna said. "I mean, I know how it feels to feel desperate for something in your life to change. I mean, I _did_ say yes."

"I still almost killed your sister," he pointed out.

"Well, yeah," Anna admitted, rubbing her shoulder and looking at him out of the corner of her eye, "But you only did it because you thought she killed me. And Elsa let you come see me, didn't she?"

"Well…actually, she said if I tried anything while I was here, she'd know and she would turn me into an icicle," Hans admitted, looking at the door nervously. "So we aren't exactly on great terms either."

_That's why he seemed so eager to leave_, Anna thought. She didn't blame him, considering she had almost been turned into one by Elsa herself.

She looked at him. His auburn hair, his green eyes (they were _green_; Anna had to make sure she remembered) and his smile, which now was sad. It was true, things changed since they met, but he still looked _gorgeous_.

"Can I just say something crazy?" Anna finally said. She didn't wait for him to answer. "I want you to stay."

"But Anna, you said we don't even—"

"I'm not saying get married," Anna answered hurriedly, "But, even if we're not in love, we like each other right? I-I mean, I still do like you Hans." She blushed, her cheeks turning crimson.

Hans' eyes widened. She could he was trying to stop himself from doing it, but he ended up grinning stupidly. "Of course! I was thinking that too. I _do_ want to know more about you Anna. What is your favorite food?"

"What's yours?"

They both looked away for a moment before answering in unison, "Chocolate!"

Hans started laughing, and unlike before, Anna joined in. She threw her hands in the air as she laughed, accidentally hitting him in the face. She apologized quickly, only for them both to start laughing again, Hans putting an arm around her.

It was true they barely knew anything about each other. Yet.

But that didn't mean they didn't have chemistry, right?


	2. Kristoff and Anna

_Author's note: Thank you all for the great reviews! Originally I was intending to only do one story, but I've been getting such great feedback on the original I thought I could try doing another chapter, about Kristoff. Feel free to suggest more one shots for this AU fic. _

Kristoff would have never even considered trying to steal Anna if it wasn't for the encouragement of his adopted family. When his adventure with Anna was over, he had gone to visit the trolls; he thought they should know about it right away, since they had helped. He dodged questions concerning their relationship all night, until he finally broke down and told them the truth; she was with someone else, even if she wasn't engaged anymore.

Of course, to them that didn't affect his chances with her at all. After all, they almost married them when Anna was _engaged_; she was even less of a fixer-upper now than before. Their constant encouragement for him to 'go for it' just piled onto his already confusing emotions.

The truth was, Kristoff had no idea if he loved Anna. After all, would that really be all that different from what Hans did that he found so ridiculous? How could he say he was in love with a girl he had known for less than a week? So everyday he struggled. He didn't know whether to pour his heart out to the princess or just stay away from her until his feelings…whatever they were…went away.

But that all changed when Anna dragged him, blindfolded, into Arendelle, and gave him the most amazing sled he had ever seen.

She had even included a new lute, which he had actually forgotten about himself. And making him Royal Ice Master and Deliverer? For a moment he was absolutely overcome with emotion. Instead of speaking, he just picked Anna up and spun her around.

"Anna!" He finally said, setting her down. "You—are—amazing," and he looked at her. She was still holding his arms for balance, the spin leaving her dizzy, and she was laughing giddily.

Their faces were close. Kristoff could have counted every freckle on her beautiful face. In that moment, he was absolutely certain that he was in love with the princess. It was true, he hadn't known her that long; but they had battled wolves, scaled icy cliffs, and _jumped off_ icy cliffs together. They had been through more in those few days than Anna and Hans would probably be through in a lifetime. He was going to tell her, right now, and as he worked it out in his mind he became more and more confident that Anna had to feel the same way, deep down. He didn't even need to use words. All he had to do was lean in…

"I'm so glad you like it Kristoff!" Anna said, letting go of his arms when she had regained her bearings. "Hans helped me pick it out for you."

Kristoff froze. He had begun leaning in slowly, and he straightened back up; thank God Anna hadn't noticed. "Oh. He…did."

"Yes! We actually used it once before I tied the bow around it—I mean to make sure it worked!" she added defensively. "Else made it snow for a day so we could use it. We made sure you were out that day." Some strands of hair had fallen out of her pigtails; Anna twirled one strand around her finger as she kept talking.

"It was so wonderful too, Kristoff! We went all around the kingdom. I was in the castle for so long that I forgot that there's so much more in Arandelle besides what I could see out my window!" And Anna launched into a lengthy description of everything they did, and all the amazing shops they discovered, and how beautiful it was. Kristoff had to cut her off, knowing that she would have probably continued for hours.

"That is great Anna…thank you, so much." He hitched Sven up to the sled; the reindeer had noticed his friend's change in demeanor and looked at him in concern. Anna, who had been oblivious up to that point, finally seemed to sense something was off.

"Kristoff?" Anna asked, looking at him in concern, "Are you okay? Did you find something wrong with the sled?"

"No Anna, the sled is incredible. It's just…" he was tempted for a moment to tell her the truth, but he couldn't do it. He was being stupid; he let a bunch of trolls convince him that he could beat out a prince for a shot at the princess. And, even if she was breaking his heart, she didn't know that she was doing it. All he would do was upset her, and Kristoff never wanted to upset her if he could help it

"It's just…well, with my luck, I wouldn't be surprised if I accidentally ran this off a cliff the second I rode it out of here," he finally finished, doing his best shot at a convincing smile. He didn't feel like he was succeeding, but Anna seemed to believe him.

"Oh, you'll be fine Kristoff! Just avoid cliffs. And wolves…and don't set it on fire…just don't do anything I would do if I were there." She finished with a giggle and sheepish grin.

Kristoff couldn't help but smile a bit more genuinely. "This is the best gift I've ever gotten," he said, "And if you want to use it, I'll take you in it whenever you want….just no fire this time."

Anna shook her head quickly, trying to contain her excitement. "No fire. Got it!"

"Good," he looked at her for a few moments, then ahead. "I think I'm going to go into the woods and try it out. Maybe head out to grab more ice…I'll see you Anna." He ushered his reindeer on, and he left without even waiting for Anna to say goodbye. As they headed out into the kingdom and into the mountains, Kristoff grabbed his lute. He began strumming lightly, marveling at how much better it sounded than the old one. Finally he began singing, softly, a song he had made up when he and Sven were children. Anna had heard him singing it the night they met.

"But people smell better than reindeer…" he sang, going into the last verse, "Sven, don't you think I'm right…?"

"_Yes that may be true, for all except you,"_ he continued, doing his reindeer voice. Tonight, he wasn't really into it.

"Alright…you got me…" He had no idea how long he had been gone; he didn't even know exactly where he was heading. He'd been traveling around these mountains so long that he trusted himself to find the way back wherever Sven ended up taking him. He leaned back as far as he could, until he was looking up at the night sky.

"Goodnight…"

_Author's note: Also…I'm not sure whether or not I should do an Else/Kristoff one shot in the future. On one hand, I feel bad for Kristoff, not ending up with anyone. On the other, I'm not sure how well they would work as a couple, and I don't want to put them together just to 'pair the spares'. Thoughts?_


	3. Kristoff and Elsa

**Here is my newest chapter: Kristoff and Elsa. Can I just take a moment to thank all of the awesome people who reviewed this story? Like I said in my last chapter, I was planning on only making it a one-shot, but all of your encouragement was so surprising. I feel like this fic is going to wind down soon—I'm thinking maybe one or two more chapters at the most—but I may just have another Frozen fic ready in the future. I'm having way too much fun with these characters! **

Kristoff stared at the door to the queen's room, and then looked back down at the paper that was clutched in his hand. It had been stuffed in the mailbox of his house, which was another generous gift from the two sisters.

_To Kristoff Bjorgman,_

_Her Royal Highness, Queen Elsa, has personally requested a private audience with you in her chambers. Please come as soon convenient._

The letter went on, but that was the important part. Why did Elsa want to see him?

He didn't want to admit it, but Anna's sister still scared him. How could he help it? He'd been attacked by her monsters. He saw, first hand, what her magic did to Anna. And anyone who created a harmless, lovable creature like Olaf that also created the monster that chased them out of the castle could not be totally stable.

Kristoff steeled his courage, and knocked on the large oak door to the queen's sleeping quarters. Immediately it opened, Elsa standing in front of him with one hand on her hip.

"Kristoff! Thank you for coming. Please, come in." she said, motioning with her head. Kristoff walked inside stiffly, hands clasped in front of him; his eyes widened. All of the furniture in her room was made of ice; even her bed was ice with a blanket on top of it.

"Is something wrong…?" Elsa said, and a look of realization dawned on her face and she giggled. It seemed so unnatural to Kristoff, to see this extremely cold, powerful looking woman giggling. Kristoff realized for a moment why she was so unsettling—she was _too_ flawless. With her large icy blue eyes, pale skin, and tightly pulled back braid, she looked like a porcelain doll that had become alive.

"I must apologize. Since I've let the kingdom know about my powers, I've been…experimenting, I suppose you could say. I got a bit carried away in my room. I sometimes forget that not everyone is as comfortable sitting on ice as I am." She walked to the corner of the room, pulling out the only chair that wasn't made of ice. "Please, sit down."

"Don't apologize," Kristoff said, sitting down. Taking in the sight of the amazingly detailed furniture made him forget somewhat about his slight fear toward her. "It's amazing."

"Thank you," Elsa sat down, crossing her legs. She appraised him sideways, like a cat that wasn't sure whether or not she was interested in a toy. She tapped the table between that was between them with a long fingernail. Instantly, the small tea kettle that lay on top of it was joined by two cups made out of ice.

"Would you like some?" she asked, filling a cup before he could say no; not that he would have. He was never an avid drinker of tea, but he would take some to be polite.

"Thank you, your Majesty, but—"

"Please, call me Elsa. It's the least I can let you do for helping my sister."

"Elsa. I mean, this ice room is amazing, don't get me wrong, and the tea is great…but I was wondering why you asked me to come here." He shifted in the chair uncomfortably.

Elsa took a moment, as though she was trying to consider what to say. She took a sip from her cup, smiling appreciatively as she drank as though she was admiring a fine wine.

"Just to talk about some things," Elsa finally decided to say, putting it down.

"Like what?"

"Just some things about your duties as Ice Deliverer. You've been doing an excellent job, considering it's a position that we've never had before."

"Thank you," Kristoff answered, beaming with pride. "Worked out a schedule. Haul it down once a month. Haven't made any late deliveries since I started."

"That's a…matter of opinion." Elsa said, raising an eyebrow. Kristoff almost spit out his tea. A _matter of opinion_? This was what he did best! He and Sven braved blizzards, frozen rivers, and wolves to get that ice back on time.

"I'm sorry if I sound rude, _Elsa_," Kristoff said, seething. "But it's not a matter of opinion. If that ice doesn't get to Arendelle on time—well, it's because we got there early. When have we _ever_ been late?"

Elsa pursed her lips. Looking at Kristoff, she raised a hand toward her bed. Immediately a small storm of frost and ice exploded from her fingertips. It swirled around above her bed, faster and faster, until she was finished—on her bed stood ten ice blocks, cut perfectly and stacked neatly in a pyramid.

"As you can probably guess," Elsa said curtly, "I can make a lot more."

"...That's nice…" Kristoff said.

"Anna told you that you could pick the ice up from the castle to deliver to the residents of the kingdom. It would take you only a few hours if you did that…and well, compared to the few weeks it takes you to go into the mountains instead…I would say that it means you are always _very_ late with your deliveries."

Kristoff squirmed in his chair, avoiding the queen's gaze. "I…I don't know why I forgot." He lied, "I mean, I don't even remember Anna talking to me—"

"Don't lie to me," Elsa said simply. "Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't remember…considering the fact that you've barely spoken to Anna lately."

Kristoff stiffened, and set down his cup. "This isn't about the ice being delivered quickly," Kristoff said, "This is about Anna? She's been telling you I've been avoiding her?"

"She's mentioned things," Elsa answered. "She says you haven't spoken to her in weeks."

"Well, the weather is heating up. I've had to go into the mountains—"

"And the fact that you spend weeks away from Arendelle, instead of just picking the ice up from the castle like Anna suggested, has _nothing _to do with wanting to avoid her?" Kristoff could only look back in silence, grinding his teeth. Elsa was reading him like an open book—once again, he couldn't believe that she was related to Anna, who could be completely oblivious sometimes.

"Kristoff, Anna thinks she did someone wrong. She thinks you're mad at her—"

"I'm not mad at her, and she didn't do anything wrong! It has _nothing_ to do with Anna!" Kristoff answered, his voice rising. Elsa acted as if he said nothing; his denial only made her surer that it was true.

"I have no idea why you're doing this, Kristoff," Elsa continued, "But whatever the reason, you've hurt her feelings. After all she's done for you, it's not right for you to be ignoring her like this—"

"Who are you to tell me not to ignore Anna," Kristoff finally snapped, "You ignored her for her _entire childhood_! And now you're _interrogating _me, because I haven't kept in touch for a couple of months?"

Suddenly, Elsa's demeanor changed. For this entire conversation she had spoken softly, with a completely professional and stately demeanor. Now he saw that façade crumbling. As the queen's shoulders slumped, and tears began to form at the corners of her eyes, Kristoff realized that he had gone a little too far; she was either about to kill him or burst into tears.

Lightly, Elsa put her hand on his wrist. Perhaps she had thought he was about to leave the room and wanted to make sure he wouldn't; well, Kristoff wasn't going to. A pang of guilt that settled in his gut had kept him in place, keeping him from bolting out the door.

"I _did_ shut her out," Elsa said softly, looking down at the table. She took deep, even breaths, trying to keep it together. "And that is _exactly _why I should be the one to tell you this, Kristoff. Ignoring Anna is the worst thing I've ever done. I've been trying, but…our relationship will never be the same. It's simply been too long." She had to take a moment. Tears ran down her face, and then froze into snowflakes; she brushed them off with the back of her hand.

"I don't want you to make the same mistake I did. Whatever your reason is for staying away from Arendelle, reconsider it. As Anna's sister, I promised myself that I would never shut Anna out again…and I can't stand to see someone else doing it to her. And if Anna honestly didn't do anything to you, you need to stop before it's too late and your…_friendship_…can't be repaired."

Why did she emphasize friendship? Kristoff realized she knew exactly how she felt about Anna; she had guessed it. For a moment, he actually felt a little grateful. Even though she could have told him she knew, she wasn't, probably because she guessed he wouldn't want to talk about it. And, more importantly, she wasn't telling Anna what she thought.

"Can I go now?" Kristoff finally replied. He didn't know how to answer her.

"Yes," Elsa answered. "It was nice getting to talk to you, Kristoff. Perhaps we can do this again one day in a less formal manner."

That wasn't likely; Kristoff didn't think this was a very fun conversation…though he had to admit it _was _insightful. He stood up and left the room at a brisk pace—only to run straight into Anna and knock her down.

"Anna!" Kristoff said, helping the princess up. "Are you alright?"

"Kristoff! I'm fine—I was just going to see if Elsa had work to do today. Would you...are you staying here for awhile?" She asked, "The three of us should go out together!"

"I can't Anna," Kristoff said apologetically, "I have to…"

He couldn't do it. Elsa's words got to him; as hard as it could be sometimes being around a girl he could never have, maybe it would be better than not being her friend at all. "Well, I need to deliver ice. But Elsa just called me in to tell me that she'll be creating the ice blocks for me now; no more having to travel in the mountains every other week!"

"That's great!" Anna hugged him. "I told you that weeks ago though. Don't you remember?"

"Completely forgot until Elsa reminded me." He rubbed the back of his head. "Feel really stupid right now too. I'll meet you later tonight, okay?"

"Sure!"

Kristoff hugged her again, and Anna ran part him into her sister's room. As he walked away, he couldn't help but look back. Anna was waving her hands excitedly, telling Elsa that she was wrong about him all along, no doubt, and that he wasn't avoiding her after all.

Elsa caught him looking out of the corner of her eye, and smiled. 'Thanks' she mouthed.

'Thank you too' Kristoff mouthed back, and walked away, whistling a working tune as he strode down the hall.


	4. Anna and Hans on the Roof

**Author's Note: I always want to update my chapters by saying, thanks to all my awesome reviewers! Here's some Anna/Hans to break up the last two Kristoff focused stories.**

The roof was Anna and Hans' favorite spot in the castle. It was for two reasons; one was that Elsa's room was between the prince's room and Anna's—and she had said that she would _appreciate_ (translation: demand or be turned into an ice sculpture) that Hans not try and venture into Anna's room at night.

"Only because," the queen would tell him, "I am a light sleeper. If you try and walk past my room to go into Anna's there is _no way I will not know," _Hans had simply gulped and assured her that she would not have to worry. Instead, he and Anna would simply open their bedroom windows, climb out, and meet on the roof outside instead.

The second was that Anna wouldn't have wanted to be inside anyway. Anna seemed to take any chance she could to be outside; whether it was 100 degrees outside, or 40 below, Anna hated being stuck in that castle.

"I was stuck in here for 18 _years_," Anna would say, when Hans said that maybe they could stay in the nice, cool house instead of the sweltering heat of outside, "I need to make up for that by spending all the time I can outside!" And reluctantly, Hans would relent, because he loved Anna more than he hated the weather that day. It was one of the few things that they didn't agree on.

Tonight there was a third reason why they were on that roof—but only Hans knew what it was.

"It's beautiful tonight, isn't it?" Anna said, resting her head on Hans' shoulder. She sighed. "I love snow." The days of that summer had been _much _hotter than they had in the years previous; as though it was making up for the few days it was cold.

Elsa normally was not quick to use her powers to change the climate of the entire kingdom, but she had declared that day a 'snow day' so the residents of Arendelle could have a break from the sweltering heat.

"I know you do," the prince said lightly. He, however, was shivering; mostly from the cold, partly from nerves.

"You know what we should do?" Anna asked suddenly. "We should build a snowman!"

"On the roof?" Hans asked her incredulously.

"Yes," Anna answered, "Why not? And then…OH! We can have Elsa bring it to life! It'll be a new friend for Olaf!"

"Maybe make it a girl this time?" Hans suggested.

"Oh, Olaf would _love_ that." Anna said, giggling. Hans joined in on her laughter. Impulsively, Hans lifted Anna's head off his shoulder and kissed her. They broke apart, Anna looking away from him and blushing. It was cute, Hans thought, that every time he kissed her she acted like it was a surprise.

He had to act fast now, before he lost his nerve.

"Anna," He said, turning her face to look at him. "I have something important I want to tell you."

"What?"

"Anna," Hans began standing up, pulling her up with him. "I love—"

And then he fell. Hans hadn't noticed the patch of ice he placed his foot on as he stood up. He landed, and began sliding off the edge.

"HANS!" Anna screamed. She made a desperate grab for the prince, and by some miracle managed to dive, landing on her stomach and grabbing onto his one hand with both of hers as the rest of him dangled off the side of the roof.

"Anna! Can you pull me up?" Anna closed her eyes tight, summoning all of her might, but she couldn't do it.

"I can't," she finally gasped, out of breath from trying. "Can you climb up?"

"No! It's too slippery!" he kept trying, but his feet kept slipping every time he tried to get a foot hold.

"Well…well…keep trying!" Anna said, panicked. "I can't hold onto your hand forever!" she began calling for help, to no avail. Everyone in the castle was probably asleep.

"Anna," Hans said, "You're going to fall too if you keep trying to help me up! You need to…you need to let go!"

"What? NO! I'll…I'll stay here all night if I have to!" she tried to heave him up again, willing her adrenaline to give her an extra burst of strength. When her feet slid on the ice, and she just barely managed not to fall off too, Hans had enough.

"Then I'm letting go!" Hans said. "The fall might not kill me…I mean, there's snow right?"

"There's barely an inch on the ground!" Luckily for Hans, (or unluckily, really) he never had to make the decision to purposely fall to his death. Anna kept trying to pull him up; at one point she had actually gotten completely to her feet, and it looked like she had managed to save him. But she slipped again, and she fell back onto her stomach, and as a whoosh of air left her lungs, she let go.

"HANS!"

At this point, Hans simply closed his eyes. There was no way he was surviving that fall; he was only glad he had told Anna he loved her before he died—

_Whump_

When he realized that it was taking him way too long to fall to his untimely death, he opened his eyes. He had landed on a mountain of snow; how had he not noticed that? Anna had now peeked over the edge of the roof with a horrified look on her face, but when she saw a very dazed but unhurt Hans, she grinned.

"Elsa!" Anna said, "You saved him! Thank you, thank you, _thank you_!"

Hans maneuvered himself so he could see behind him, and sure enough, the queen was standing there in her sleep wear, eyes wide and arms still held out from casting the spell. She was breathing heavily, probably from adrenaline, and she slowly lowered her arms.

"I heard _screaming_," she said. "And when I came outside, I saw him falling." She walked over, and reached a hand out to the prince; he took it and jumped off the pile of snow.

"What on _earth_ happened?" she shouted up to Anna. Anna didn't answer right away; with a squeal of delight, she jumped off the roof herself, disappearing in the snow pile. For a moment she was completely emerged, only to pop her head back up and shake the snow off her face.

"That is so much fun!" Anna said, and then looked at Elsa. "Well…Hans and I were on the roof…then he tried to stand up…and he just fell. Sorry…" When she realized what she had been saying, she jumped up and almost tackled Hans with the force of her hug.

"I am SO glad you're okay!" she said, almost crying. "Don't do that to me again!"

"Believe me," Hans said, holding Anna close, "Falling off a roof is _not _something I want to try twice." That elicited a smile even from Elsa, who had moved closer to put a hand on Anna's shoulder.

"I'm too tired to be mad at you two—just promise me you'll stay off the roof when it's icy." she said. She rubbed her eyes sleepily. "You were lucky Hans. If I had come out any later…"

"Thank you, Elsa," Hans said sincerely. "I owe you my life."

"Well, now you owe me two lives, actually," the queen said. "One for not banishing you for trying to kill me a few months ago, and one for this." But as she walked past him to go inside, she made sure to put a hand on his shoulder and smile at him to show that she was joking.

Anna locked arms with him as they followed behind. "Hans, about what you were saying before you fell…" Hans was about to interject, but before he could, Anna pulled him close and kissed him.

"I love you too Hans," the princess finally finished when she released him. "But next time, maybe we should stay off the roof."

Hans could only nod quickly in assent as they walked back inside.


	5. Kristoff and Elsa in the Courtyard

**Author's note: By far, the hardest chapter to write. Elsa is my favorite character, but also the most difficult to portray! It was a really fun challenge. **

When Kristoff finally decided to not avoid Anna, he very soon encountered the exact opposite of the problem he had before.

Ever since their near-death incident on the roof, (everyone ended up hearing about it) Anna and Hans became an even closer couple, if that was even _possible_. Anna never asked Kristoff to do anything together anymore.

He had to admit though; he preferred that over being asked to join her and Hans as the third wheel. Elsa wasn't having anymore 'chats' with him either, which made him think that Anna wasn't bothered by their renewed lack of talking.

And Elsa would have had plenty of opportunity to talk to him, considering he was seeing her weekly.

It began when Kristoff committed to picking up the ice at the castle instead on in the mountains. He agreed to meet the queen in the courtyard once a week, tell her how many people needed the ice, and she would zap as much as he needed into the back of the sleigh.

"Thanks," he always answered. He'd give Sven a bite of carrot, take a bite himself for the road (ignoring Elsa trying not to show how disgusting she thought that was) and they'd be off.

It went like that for a few weeks, them barely speaking. Then, one day, a horse had gotten spooked by something in the middle of the road, flipping the cart it was hitched too. By the time Kristoff had made sure the rider was alright, helped him pick up the produce that had spilled, and managed to persuade the horse to come back with the help of Sven, he was an hour late.

"Elsa!" Kristoff shouted, him and Sven skidding into the courtyard, "I'm sorry I was so — what are you doing?"

Elsa looked up. She was sitting on the ground, her legs crossed. In front of her was a small reindeer made out of snow. The queen looked at him and shrugged.

"You were late," She said, still patting down the snow on his head. "So I started working on this while I waited." She got up, and stepped back, putting a hand to her chin. "Something is…missing from it though."

"'Course there is," Kristoff said. "There are no horns on the reindeer."

"I could say it's a reindeer foal." Elsa suggested.

"Wouldn't work," the mountain man had, at this point, kneeled down and began inspecting the sculpture himself. "Technically, it's the size of a foal. But the amount of fur it has, and it's proportions…definitely an adult. It's a pretty accurate sculpture, actually, if you had horns—right Sven?" the reindeer nodded in agreement. "See? Here," he got up, walked over to a tree, and quickly snapped off two branches.

"_Now_ it looks like a reindeer," Kristoff finished when he stuck them into the sides of its head.

"Uh…thank you Kristoff," Elsa said, surprised. "You know a lot about…reindeer sculpting."

"Well, I did raise one," Kristoff quipped. "It looks good too. Are you going to use your ice magic to make it alive or something?"

"What? Oh _no_," Elsa said with a laugh. "I mean, Olaf is a sweetheart, but one is enough. I'm not risking this one being just as much of a handful."

"Plus, even if it isn't, if Olaf learns how to ride his own personal snow reindeer…" he began laughing. The image of Olaf, standing on the back of a mini snow reindeer, and probably crashing through everything in his way was just too funny. Elsa had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from snorting.

"Maybe I'll use it as a decoration," Elsa mused, when she regained her composure. "That would be a nice welcome to Arendelle for visitors, wouldn't it? To see beautiful ice sculptures everywhere during every season?" Kristoff nodded politely.

"You know me," Kristoff said, "Ice is my life. I think it's a great idea."

"I think I'll do it," Elsa decided. The queen appraised the mountain man before her for a moment before adding, "With your help, of course?"

Kristoff huffed. "My help? Why? I'm not exactly an expert in fine art."

"No, but you _are_ an expert in ice. As Ice Master you should be involved with this anyway."

"You don't want Anna's help instead?" he asked curiously. Elsa glanced at the ground.

"No. She's been…busy lately."

It suddenly occurred to Kristoff that maybe he wasn't the only one Anna was forgetting about lately. Elsa was being ditched in favor of Hans too, huh? He could relate. But since she had never brought up the whole 'you're-in-love-with-my-sister' thing (and he had a feeling she knew) he wasn't going to press her on this when it was obvious she didn't want to talk about it.

"Well, I'll do it," he finally said. "Whatever help you need."

Elsa brightened; she was looking back up now. "Good! Come back next week and I'll have something ready for you to look at."

"Sure," he readied the reins of his sleigh, as Elsa set to work filling it with ice. "Also, about the vagueness of the title 'Ice Master'—"

"Kristoff," Elsa said sternly, but a smile crossed her pale lips for a moment.

"Alright! Alright," he said, and he left.

It actually ended up being easier than he thought. Every week that he came, Elsa would have a sculpture already done; he would just look at it, give his two cents about how he thought it looked, and chat for a few more minutes before he was on his way.

And the sculptures _were_ incredible. Once she created a wolf that seemed so alive, its eyes followed Kristoff as he walked around it and he was afraid she had accidentally brought it to life. Another week it was a grizzly bear, life sized. A _life-sized_ grizzly bear. It seemed like every week she created something more incredible than the last.

Not to mention, he grew to actually like Elsa. She had a lot of interesting things to say, for someone who had been isolated for so long, and he appreciated how laid back and down to earth she was. It was different from talking to Anna, who could be all over the place sometimes. And that wasn't to say she wasn't like her sister—he thought that at first, but he began to see the similarities. They had the same smile; when she laughed, he could almost close his eyes and picture Anna standing there.

It got to the point where, blissfully, he almost forgot about Anna. Not entirely, of course; but the pain he used to feel, at the front of his mind every day, now became more of a dull ache in the back of his brain. It came back full force when he ran into her briefly, or saw her with Hans around town...but still.

"The leaves are falling," Elsa commented once. It was week five of her little art sculpting project, and Kristoff was examining her new sculpture, an incredibly detailed deer.

"I didn't notice," he said, not really paying attention.

Elsa picked up a leaf off the ground, near Kristoff's feet. "See? And the leaves that _are_ still on the trees are turning orange. It's almost fall."

Kristoff looked up this time. When he actually took a close look, he _did_ have to admit that the leaves had a slight touch of orange in them now. Elsa tended to notice small things that Kristoff would have never spotted.

"Yeah," Kristoff answered. "I lost track of time. I guess summer's almost over, huh?"

"And there aren't as many requests for ice anymore, are there?" Elsa continued. She suddenly seemed interested in a lock of platinum blond hair that she hadn't pulled back that day, toying with it, as though to avoid looking at him directly.

"No."

"Soon you probably won't need to come here at all," Elsa said, her voice level. "Too cold for ice..."

"I guess so—why…?" Kristoff looked at her, smiling, raising an eyebrow. "Why, Elsa, would you _miss_ me?"

"What? No," she answered quickly. "It's just…the sculptures. I'm still making them…and you've helped me a lot with them."

Was he imagining it, or was there more color in her cheeks than usual?

He must have been imagining it.

"Elsa, did you think I was going to stop coming?" Kristoff asked. He walked over to Sven, petting him. "And miss out on being the first person to see these ice sculptures? No way, right buddy?" Sven nodded briskly, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Kristoff jumped in the sled.

"I'll see you next week—usual time." He said. He leaned forward, taking a carrot out of his pocket. He let Sven take a bite.

"Goodbye Kristoff," Elsa said, smiling.

Kristoff was about to take a bite out of it himself; then he stopped. He suddenly felt very self conscious about the fact that Elsa was watching, and she found his habit of sharing with Sven gross.

"Well…see you." He finally said, putting the half eaten carrot in his pocket and snapping the reins. They kept going until they were out of sight, and Kristoff grabbed the carrot again; she wasn't looking now.

"_Why_ do_ you care what she thought?_" Kristoff finally said, in Sven's voice. "_You never did before…" _

Kristoff paused for a moment.

"I…don't know buddy." He finally answered. He took a huge bite out of the carrot, enjoying the satisfying crunch and ignoring Sven rolling his eyes.


	6. Elsa Considers Part 1

Elsa always hated the monthly meeting she had with her advisers. It involved an entire day full of long, boring meetings. Which wouldn't be so bad, if she didn't have to spend the rest of the day going through long, boring reports (which went over everything from those long, boring meetings) ending in mountains of long, boring paperwork. It got so bad, like on this night, that she even requested her meals be brought to her room.

She wasn't surprised when Anna walked into her room to bring her dinner; it was really something a servant would do, like Gerda, but Anna liked to use the opportunity to steal a few minutes with her sister on a day where they otherwise would not have spoken. What she was surprised to see, however, was Hans walking in with her, arm in arm.

"Hello Elsa!" Anna chirped, holding a plate in one hand, her other arm around the prince. "Here's your dinner; I didn't actually know how you like venison, so I asked for it to be cooked medium…is that okay?" she was talking very fast; almost like she was excited?

"Of course," Elsa answered, forcing a tired smile. "That's fine Anna. Just put it on the table. How are you Hans?"

The prince looked like he had been startled; his eyes widened and he nodded. "Good. Really good…actually I wanted to talk to you about something…which is why I came here, I mean." He smoothed back his hair nervously.

"Oh, you do?" Elsa said, taking the plate from Anna and putting it on top of her writing desk. "I have a lot of paperwork to handle tonight Hans; can it wait until later?"

"Oh, of course," Hans answered quickly—that is, until Anna elbowed him in the ribs. "I MEAN…no. I'd like to do it right now. Anna thinks it's kind of important—And so do I!" he added hastily, when Anna readied another elbow jab.

Elsa sighed. "Well, okay then. What is it?"

Hans might have tried to say something, but she couldn't understand him; he was stammering, almost incoherently. "Hans, you seem a bit…nervous," Elsa said gently. "If you'd like I can have Anna leave the room—"

"He _proposed_ Elsa!" Anna suddenly blurted out. "HE PROPOSED!" she said again, screaming shrilly in delight. Then, realizing what she had done, she covered her mouth and looked at Hans sheepishly.

"Anna!" Hans said indignantly, "We both agreed I should be the one to tell her!"

"Well I couldn't help it!" Anna shouted back, crossing her arms and pouting. "You kept talking in circles. It would have taken you_ hours_ before you said anything!"

"I know Anna, but I already agreed to let you come with me to talk to her, it was only fair that I—"

"_Guys,_" Elsa said, raising her voice. Not angrily, however. Just to get their attention. They both stopped their small fight, looking back at her. Both flushed in embarrassment, and Hans cleared his throat. "Let me understand this…Hans, you asked my sister to marry you?"

"Yes," he said slowly.

"Again,"

"Well…yes," Hans answered.

"And Anna answered _yes _again?" This time it was Anna who answered; she wrapped both her arms around her fiancé's waist.

"Yes!" Anna said. "Of course I did!" Elsa just stared at them. "And, well…we wanted to ask you if it was okay. Like last time."

Elsa nodded silently, doing the math in her head. Her coronation was in June…and it was October now…

"I don't know Anna," Elsa said, a bit shocked. "I mean…five months still isn't _that_ long…"

"Elsa, please," Anna said. It must have been pretty tiring, going from ecstatically happy looking to extremely sad in the span of five seconds, like Anna just did. She squeezed Hans' waist harder, widening her eyes. "Please? It wasn't like, a spur of the moment thing this time! Hans actually bought me a ring first and everything!" as if on cue, the diamond on her hand caught the light; it shined in Elsa's eyes and she put a hand up to shield them.

"Your majesty—"Hans began, slightly out of breath from Anna squeezing him. Before he could finish, however, Elsa stood up suddenly.

"I just remembered—I have to go and do something…and I need time to think about this. I'm not making a decision yet." She walked past them quickly, surreptitiously grabbing her gloves next to her bed as she walked out.

"Elsa, please, you don't need to take the gloves…" Anna said, and then trailed off when Elsa wasn't listening. Elsa almost never wore those gloves anymore; she only did when she was upset, just in case she lost control of her powers again.

"Don't go after her," Elsa heard Hans say as she walked down the hall. "Give her some time Anna, I'm sure she just needs time to think…" she felt relief as she continued outside.

For some reason, Elsa ended up going into the courtyard; perhaps she felt the air would help her think? She hadn't really been thinking anything when she decided to walk outside…she just felt she had to—

"Elsa!" she heard someone call out. _That_ was why. Appearing through the gates, on his sled, was Kristoff. And she had completely forgotten that they met in the courtyard every Wednesday.

"Elsa!" he said again, jumping off the sled and taking off his hat. He shook his messy blond hair out, not bothering to smooth it down, and it stuck out in at least twelve different directions. If she had been feeling better, Elsa would have laughed. "How are you? Got your sculpture of the week ready?"

"Oh, Kristoff…I'm sorry," she said. She put a hand to her forehead. "I completely forgot we were supposed to meet today—I had to go to a meeting that lasted hours, and that only ended half an hour ago, and I'm stuck under mountains of paperwork, and I have no idea how I'm going to get it all done. And to top it off Anna—"she stopped before she finished. "…I'm just very stressed."

Kristoff crossed his arms. "If you forgot, why were you out here?"

"Well, I wanted to clear my head."

Kristoff smiled. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Anna, would it?" he raised an eyebrow. "Don't think I didn't hear you about to say something about her…or the fact that, for some reason, you have your gloves on." He suddenly looked very worried. "Elsa, you didn't accidentally hit Anna again, did you?"

"NO!" Elsa said defensively. "Nothing like that happened! It's just…" she sighed deeply. She knew he wasn't going to stop until she told him, so why bother? "Hans and Anna asked me for permission to get married."

She watched Kristoff carefully for a reaction. She'd always had a feeling that Kristoff had feelings for her sister; and sure enough, for a moment he tensed up at the news for a brief moment. "Really? That's great." He said flatly. "Did you say yes?"

"Well…I told them I would think about it…" she said, rubbing her arm and looking at the ground guiltily. "I don't know. Five months? That's not that long."

"Hey, you're lucky they even waited that long to begin with," Kristoff pointed out. "I'm surprised they didn't take 'taking it slow' and thought that meant waiting until the second date or something."

"I suppose you're right."

"Elsa, come on," Kristoff finally said. "That's not enough to bring you down this much. It's not just the five months thing, is it?" Elsa was taken aback for a moment; that was blunt, even if Kristoff wasn't exactly subtle. She realized that, until this moment, she'd never really had a deep conversation with him; their talks were all joking and looking at ice sculptures. Frankly, Anna was the only person she'd ever opened up with in the least.

"I don't like that it's Hans," she finally said.

"Why?" Kristoff asked. "He's a nice guy—maybe a little _too_ nice, but there's nothing wrong with him."

"You didn't know him the way I did," Elsa said softly. Kristoff didn't speak for a moment, but it suddenly dawned on him what she meant.

"When he thought you killed Anna?" Kristoff asked gently. Elsa nodded. She could still remember it like it was yesterday; her, sobbing on the ground, Hans' sword raised in the air, casting a thin shadow over her face. And Hans, tears at the corners of his eyes, calling her a monster, a murderer, asking her how she could do that to her own sister…

"I suppose—I mean, I blame him somewhat for what happened," Elsa admitted.

"Why?" Kristoff asked.

"Well…if he hadn't asked Anna to marry him, she wouldn't have said yes," Elsa began. She began counting it off on her fingers; it was clear she had already given it a lot of thought. "If she hadn't said yes, she wouldn't have asked me; if she hadn't asked me to let her marry, we wouldn't have argued; if we didn't argue, I wouldn't have lost control of my ice powers; and if that hadn't happened, Arendelle wouldn't have almost frozen forever, Anna wouldn't have looked for me, and I wouldn't have almost killed her." She stopped, catching her breath; she had said that all rather quickly."I _know_ it sounds stupid, blaming him for all of it. I _know_ it wasn't his fault. But I can't help looking at him, and remembering it all over again..."

"It's true," Kristoff said simply.

"But you know what? I think it's all in how you look at it." He added. When Elsa said nothing, staring at the ground sadly, he continued.

"If Hans hadn't asked Anna to marry you," he said, "You wouldn't have learned how to control your powers."

Elsa looked up.

"If that hadn't happened, your relationship with Anna wouldn't have gotten better…" Kristoff got off the wall, walking to the queen.

"…And I would have never met Anna, or _you_." He finished, laughing a little. "Of course, that's only a plus for me. I don't know if you consider meeting me a loss or not."

"Of course I don't," Elsa said, smiling. Impulsively, she leaned in and gave him a hug.

"Thank you," She said, her voice muffled by the winter coat her face was buried in.

"No problem," Kristoff said. "I'm not the best at giving advice, but you gave me some about Anna before, remember? I'm just paying it back." More might have been said, until they heard a voice calling out from the doorway to the courtyard.

"Your Majesty!" Elsa quickly let go of Kristoff, turning around. Hans stood in the doorway, looking extremely nervous.

"Is this a bad time?" he said, with a small smile.

Elsa looked at Kristoff. "You should go. I'll see you again?" Kristoff gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder.

"Sure. Maybe even tomorrow if I have time." He seemed a little flustered as he walked back to the sled. Something about the knowing look Sven was giving must have bothered him, because he gave Sven a 'shut up' before they took off.

"You look nice," Hans said politely. "Anna didn't want to wait for you to come back. I convinced her to just let me go to find you though...would you be willing to talk?"

For a moment Elsa just stared at him. Then…a smile. A bit forced, but definitely more genuinely than when she had smiled at him before. She raised her hand, pulling off her right glove, and made an ice bench appear with a flick of the wrist.

"Sit down," she said, patting the spot next to her. "We should talk."


	7. Elsa Considers Part 2

Elsa Considers Part 2

Hans sat down on the ice bench, hoping that the coolness of the ice would keep Elsa from noticing that he was clammy with nerves. He was a lot more nervous around Elsa than he should have been, but hey, wouldn't anyone find things awkward with a person you once tried to murder in a blind rage?

"So," Elsa began, searching for the right thing to say. "You want to marry my sister."

"Absolutely," Hans said quickly. Elsa cleared her throat. It made him feel a little better that Elsa seemed just as uncomfortable as he was. He took a breath, trying to gather up his courage. Because he knew that Elsa would say no, and he wanted—no _needed_—her to say it was okay, to finally lay to rest whether or not she forgave him.

"Queen Elsa, I know how uncomfortable you must be," he said. "The things I did to you were horrible. Whether I did them because of Anna or not—it wasn't right."

Elsa looked like she had seen Hans grow an extra head, her mouth hanging open.

"…Perhaps I was a bit too forward…" he said sheepishly. The queen twirled a strand of platinum blond hair in her fingers, deep in thought.

"So Hans…" she said, smiling. "How did you propose? Anna says you actually _planned _it this time." Not what Hans thought she was going to ask, but alright?

The prince smiled. Was this her way of telling him it was okay? By not even acknowledging it? He ran a hand through his hair, chuckling a little.

"To be honest, Anna didn't tell you the entire truth," he admitted. "I did have a ring for her this time, but…buying the ring was _definitely_ impulsive."

"Really?" she said, folding her hands in her lap.

"Well, yes. We were in the market…and Anna said to me, rather suddenly, that she felt like going swimming. And she didn't want to go back in the castle and change into swimming attire first."

Elsa put a hand over her mouth. "You jumped in the _ocean_? In all your clothes?" She said incredulously.

Hans began laughing harder now, recalling every detail. "Yes! She said 'Hans, you can go and change first, but I'm not waiting for you'. So I just did it. Your sister…well, she gets like that sometimes. She'll just suddenly decide she wants to do _something_…what could I do?" he sighed happily.

"We were laughing hysterically, splashing in the shallows—it was really wonderful. And as we walked back to the castle, soaking wet, we passed a jewelry shop…I told Anna, 'wait here' and I just bought the ring and asked her." He shrugged. "So, it was a bit of a spur of the moment. But after swimming with her…it just felt like the right thing to do. The reason I love Anna is _because_ she does things like that. She's, well, always exciting. I'm never bored when I'm with her."

Elsa breathed deeply; she seemed deep in thought again, absorbing his story and the small speech he gave. Hans waited with baited breath.

"I know you love Anna," Elsa finally said softly. "What happened before? I want to _forget_ that part of my life. My life truly began after—and since then, you have been nothing but loving toward Anna, and kind toward me. I have no reason to say no."

Hans couldn't believe it. He raised his hands, not sure what to do. "Your Majesty—thank you—"

"Elsa," she said, putting a hand lightly on his shoulder. "After all, you're going to be my brother in law soon; we should be on speaking terms, shouldn't we?"

Hans jumped up in excitement. "Elsa. Thank you. I promise you won't regret this. I will be a loyal husband, and serve the kingdom of Arendelle…" he continued assuring her, thanking her for her blessing, as he walked through the doorway into the hall—and straight into Anna.

"Anna!" Hans hissed, pulling her with him. "You were _spying _on us?"

Anna looked at him, grinning. "Of course I did! I wanted to know what Elsa said!" she shrieked in delight, hugging him.

"We—are—getting—married!" the princess cried in excitement, kissing him between each word. "We need to invite all of your brothers! And we need to figure out where it will be! I'd like it in the courtyard, outside, wouldn't you? Oooh! If we plan quickly, we could have it on Christmas! Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"It would be," Hans agreed only half paying attention. He was already imagining Anna, in a wedding veil.

And, he had to admit, he could also imagine the jealous looks on his brother's faces.


	8. Hans, Anna, in-laws and Cake

Anna already knew a little about Hans' brothers, before they arrived by boat into Arendelle. She knew little, however, other than Hans was glad to be away from them and that at least a few liked to pretend he didn't exist when they were kids.

"Oh, Hans," Anna said soothingly, when the boat was getting ready to dock and Hans started to turn green. "I'm sure they'll be fine. If they're half as great as you—"

"Then Elsa will start shooting fire from her hands," the prince whispered, eliciting an eye roll from Anna.

"Welcome to Arendelle!" Anna said, waving enthusiastically. Elsa wasn't there; she'd asked that she pretend to be busy, so Anna had the opportunity to make a good first impression. She kept waving as twelve men got off the boat and stood on the docks, all in a straight line.

"Well," one voice boomed, as the owner stepped out of line. He looked to be the oldest; he had Hans' green eyes, and the hair was the same but darker, and it was starting to gray. And, Anna couldn't help but notice he was noticeably heavier than the rest. "Aren't you going to introduce us, brother?"

"Anna," Hans said stiffly. "These are my brothers. The oldest, Lukas." The fat brother bowed. "And the others; Markus, Tobias, Magnus, Oliver, Jonas, Alexander, William, Oscar, Phillip, Noah, and Leon." Each one bowed when hearing their names.

Anna smiled. "Oh, it's great to meet you all!" she said, clapping her hands in excitement. They all really didn't seem so bad. She tried to curtsy, since they all bowed—and promptly tripped on her skirt and fell flat on her face.

"I'm okay!" she said hurriedly, flushing red from embarrassment as Hans tried to help her up. The brothers didn't say anything, but she could see they were trying not to laugh.

"Well!" Lukas said, laughing. "Bit of an excitable one, eh, brother? It's too bad, we were all hoping whoever she was would at least be able to walk…" he laughed again. It sounded like a hound barking. "I only kid, of course!"

Hans grit his teeth. "Of course you do. Anna, we should show them where the castle is, and then we need to be on our way—"

"What about them?" Anna said, as he tried to lead them away quickly, "They just got here, shouldn't we do something?" Maybe they just needed to feel welcome…and Lukas was only joking, right?

"Oh no," Hans said quickly. "We…we…we don't have enough room! We need to go pick out our wedding cake. It will be very difficult for us to do that with twelve people around us—"

"Well then, I'll go!" Lukas volunteered. "Since I'm the oldest, I think it's only right that I help out my baby brother with his wedding—and get to know the bride."

Hans was about to make up an excuse, _any _excuse, but Anna just chirped "We'd love that!"

"Anna, what are you doing?" Hans hissed, walking close to her and ahead of Lukas. "I was trying to save you from having to speak to them!"

"They're your family Hans. How bad could they be?"

"Anna, please, believe me. They're horrible. _Especially_ him."

"Oh please," Anna said flippantly. "He can't be as bad as you say he is."

Lukas was _worse_ than Hans said he was, as Anna found out when they began looking at wedding cakes in the kitchen.

It should have been a fantastic time; if she had to name one thing she loved almost as much as Hans, she probably would have said chocolate cake. She had been dreaming of this day, where she would be surrounded by dozens of different varieties. But Hans'…stupid…brother.

The first thing she noticed was his appetite. Lukas didn't even bother waiting for them to cut a slice first; he just dug in. For someone who ate such a large amount, however, he was a remarkably neat eater.

The next thing was that, he was a jerk. It seemed like every other thing he said was to make fun of Hans, or her, or make some passive aggressive comment on her; from what she could glean between the lines, Anna guessed that he thought she was clumsy, stupid, and ill-mannered—exactly what _she _thought of _him_.

"So, Hans, I heard you got engaged to her the night you met," he said once while they were waiting for the next cake to be brought out. "You were that desperate when you found someone interested in you, huh?" he clapped him on the shoulder again. "What happened to that? She come to her senses before it was too late, huh? But hey, in the end you managed to annoy her enough that she gave in." he clapped him on the shoulder, laughing. "I'm kidding of course!" He finished, as though that suddenly made everything before that hilarious.

Anna sidled next to Hans, waiting until Lukas was preoccupied with the next cake. "Hans," she hissed, "Alright. You win. Get him out of here!"

"What? I can't do that now."

"Why not?"

"He's my brother, Anna. He'll kill me if I throw him out! Or he'll tell my other eleven brothers, and they'll _help_ him kill me. Or he'll tell my father, and say you're some sort of madwoman, and he'll call me a disgrace to the family—"

"Alright, alright," Anna muttered. "I get it."

"Hey, I tried to keep him from coming in the first place," Hans pointed out. Anna ignored him. She got up, deciding that she was just going to say that this was the most delicious cake she had ever had, and they should stop looking—_immediately_.

Lukas had already cut off a huge hunk. The baker preparing them smiled at the princess. "German chocolate, Your Majesty," she said, "With a chocolate mousse filling."

"Wow…" Anna said, her mouth watering. "That _does _look delicious." Without thinking, she grabbed a small piece of the cake in her hands, to taste it. "It is delicious!"

Suddenly, she heard Lukas's loud, booming laugh.

"Would you look at that! Looks like your fiancé never learned how to use a fork Hans. Grabs food with her hands like she was raised by monkeys." Anna looked at her cake-covered hand, looking downward in embarrassment. "I kid of course—"

"Shut up," Hans said softly.

"What? Speak up,"

"I said _shut your mouth_." Hans said, jumping out of his seat.

Lukas took a step back. "What's your problem? I always knew you were sensitive, but I guess being _in love_ must've softened you up—"

"This is MY wedding!" Hans shouted. He advanced on him; Lukas was far bigger than Hans, but in his anger Hans appeared to be at least equal height. "And that is MY future wife. And you are in OUR kingdom! If she wants to eat cake, upside down, hanging by her feet from a rope in the ceiling, she can!" he stalked over to the cake himself, grabbing a huge handful. "In fact, I think eating with our hands is a GREAT idea!" he devoured it. Later, Anna would laugh at the image of his face covered in chocolate cake, but right now he was so angry that it didn't make him any less frightening.

_Oh my God_, Anna thought with dread, _He finally snapped. My fiancé has gone insane_.

"Stop…insulting…my fiancé," he finished in a low, husky growl. He was breathing heavily; Anna was debating whether to duck behind the table for cover (the last time he'd gotten anywhere near this upset was with Elsa, and that almost ended in a sword and death) or jumping into Hans' arms and kissing him passionately.

Lukas, to his credit, wasn't backing down. "Please, Hans," he said. "You're making a fool out of yourself. It was bad enough that we sent you here to try and marry the queen…"

Anna's eyes widened, her mouth opening a little in surprise. Hans took notice.

"Anna, I had just arrived when I met, I hadn't even met Elsa yet, I swear you weren't like, a consolation prize or anything like that—"

"Oh, he didn't tell you, huh? Keeping secrets, are we Hans? Well, as I said, it's bad enough we did that and you came back with the princess instead -but she also has to have all the grace and charm of a mangy reindeer. I'm only being honest."

Hans' eye almost seemed to twitch. Anna was about to punch Lukas in the face herself; but Hans put an arm up to stop her. He looked like he was about to pounce on Lukas; but, a smile slowly spread across his face instead.

"I'm sorry Lukas," he said, picking up a plate of cake. "You're right. I have no idea what came over me. Must be nerves from planning everything. And to make it up to you…allow me to offer you another piece of cake." He looked at Anna.

"Anna? Don't you think we should do that?" Suddenly, it clicked in Anna's head. She looked at him, grinning from ear to ear.

"I _love_ you," Anna said simply, giving him all the permission he needed.

And Hans started laughing as he slammed the cake in his brother's face.


	9. Kristoff and Elsa Help Anna Find a Dress

"Remind me again why I'm supposed to be here?" Kristoff said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Because," Anna said, clapping her hands excitedly. "I couldn't bring Hans to pick out the dress—it's bad luck!—and I wanted a _man's_ perspective."

"And," Elsa pointed out, "I wanted someone to keep me company while I'm waiting for her to bring out dresses."

Kristoff said nothing else, but he crossed his arms and sulked. A bridal shop was _not _the place for a man to be, especially a mountain man like him. It smelled heavily like perfume, so much that he had almost sneezed when he walked in, and everything was pink. And the chairs were obviously made for women to sit in; if Kristoff tried to stand up to quickly, he had a feeling the chair would come up with him.

Not to mention, doing this was like a punch in the gut for Kristoff. Just when he thought he had finally gotten over Anna, just when he thought he could see her without feeling torn in two…she got engaged. Now that it was official, and she was going to be with Hans the rest of her life, Kristoff's feelings had come back full force. If not for Elsa asking him herself, he probably would have made an excuse to get out of it.

_If not for Elsa._ He looked at the queen; he still marveled at the fact that, in the beginning, they were strangers. Just a few months ago, he wouldn't have cared with Elsa wanted him to do. But here he was, choking on fumes, and forcing himself to help the girl he loved prepare her wedding to someone else, because Elsa wanted him to.

"Hey," Elsa said, putting a hand on his arm when Anna walked into the back room. "I know this is the _last_ thing you want to be doing."

"What else could I be doing instead?" Kristoff asked, smiling. "It was either this, or pick fleas out of Sven's coat."

Elsa laughed breezily. "But still…thank you. I'm happy for Anna, honestly, and Hans and I are fine now…but I am not looking forward to this wedding."

"Why not?" Kristoff asked.

"Oh, you know. I'm just not good at parties," Elsa said, shrugging. "I mean, you know how I am, I've never been comfortable in crowds of people. And they'll be suitors that keep asking me to dance, and I hate dancing—"

"Suitors?" Kristoff asked, perhaps a little too quickly. He uncrossed his arms, putting his hands on his knees.

"Oh, yes, they come from time to time," Elsa said. "I mean, at first a few showed up every week, right after my coronation, under the guise of 'trade agreements'. But they were almost always just sent there by their parents to try and court me." She put a hand to her forehead and sighed. "They haven't shown up for a few months; I suppose because it was obvious I wasn't interested. But with a wedding like this and a huge party…every eligible prince or relative of royalty will be bothering me."

"Most people would kill for that problem, Elsa," Kristoff pointed out.

"At first it was flattering," Elsa admitted. "But it gets annoying after the first few times. And it's not like they're actually interested in _me_."

"Well…if it makes you feel better," Kristoff said, "I don't dance either."

They sat in silence for a bit, but comfortable silence. Elsa didn't feel the need to fill every minute with conversation like Anna did, and for that Kristoff was grateful; he wasn't an extremely talkative person himself.

"At least I have someone to go with this time." Elsa began again, smiling.

"GUYS! THIS IS THE DRESS!" Anna burst through the doors, running into the middle of the room and twirling. Kristoff and Elsa gasped.

"Anna…that dress is…_spotted_?" Anna nodded happily. The dress was spotted. It was white with pearl trimming, like a wedding dress should be, but it was covered with pink polka dots.

"Wow…" Kristoff said.

"See? Kristoff likes it!"

"Anna, this is a _wedding_! You can't wear polka dots when you're a bride!" Elsa said hands at the sides of her head.

"Why not?"

"Because wedding gowns are white!"

"Well, why do they always have to be white?"

"It's just _tradition_, Anna—"

"Well I'm not traditional!" Anna said, pouting. "And I want my wedding dress to have polka dots!"

As they argued, Kristoff just watched them go back and forth. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about what Elsa had said; that men were going to be coming from all over the world, fighting to win Elsa over. He tried to convince himself it was because he felt bad for her—that was all!

And when she said 'at least I have someone to go with' did she mean…him?

"FINE!" Elsa finally said. "But if I see Hans with a pink spotted tuxedo…"

"Don't worry Elsa! Hans doesn't even know I'm wearing this, remember?"

Kristoff could just imagine the shocked look on Hans' face, seeing Anna walking in that ridiculous dress down the aisle…but at the same time, Anna had a point; she _wasn't _traditional.

The walk home was a little awkward. Anna kept talking about how excited she was, while Elsa just looked at the ground and muttered _'polka dots'_ to herself, shaking her head. Kristoff slowed down a little, so he and Elsa were behind Anna.

"Elsa…" Kristoff said, taking a deep breath. "Hey, I was wondering something—are you even listening?"

"She's _always_ been crazy, but _this_…OH! Sorry Kristoff, what was it?"

"Well…okay, I have an idea." Kristoff stopped completely. He tried to put his hands in his pockets, looking casual. "So, I don't dance. You don't dance. So…if we both went to the wedding…and sort of stayed together all night…neither of us would feel as awkward, right?" he finished, gazing at her hopefully. It wasn't as polished and smooth sounding as he had hoped it would be…but he had only decided he was going to do it a few seconds ago.

Elsa put a hand to her mouth. She smiled, and Kristoff smiled, but then Elsa frowned again.

"Oh, Kristoff…that might be a little…awkward. I was already asked to attend the wedding with someone else."

"Oh," Kristoff felt a hot blush creeping up on his cheeks. "No problem. It was just an idea…you know, so all those suitors wouldn't bother you. Who is it?"

"One of Hans' brothers," Elsa answered.

Of _course_ it was.

"His brother Leon cornered me this morning," Elsa said. "Normally I would have said no—but I would have felt rude rejecting him, since he was one of Hans' brothers, and he asked so nicely, and I was caught off guard—"

"You don't need to explain yourself," Kristoff said, a slight edge of bitterness creeping into his voice that he regretted. He smiled. "It's no problem. You'll have a great time."

They walked back together in silence, only this time it wasn't the friendly kind.

He needed to perform a preemptive strike on himself this time. Anna was bad enough, but the actual queen of Arendelle herself? Kristoff needed to get the thought out of his head; there was no way he was letting himself like Elsa as more than just a friend.

But what if he already did?


	10. A Brief Scene of Olaf and Hans

**Author's note-****This is a short chapter, but I realized I was neglecting Olaf a little, so here's something with him! Thanks again for reviewing!**

"She's wearing a dress with POLKA DOTS?" Hans said, gasping and putting a hand over his mouth.

"Ooooh—you didn't know that?" Olaf asked, flinching. He had just started talking to Hans, telling him how pretty he thought Anna's dress was. Olaf liked wandering the castle sometimes, talking to whomever he ran into, and Hans happened to be that person today.

"Polka dots…I was prepared for Anna to do something different, but I thought she'd just choose a color that wasn't white…I never thought she'd do _this._" Hans paced back and forth across the room, fixing the color of his tuxedo. He had, to put it mildly, a fair amount of stress about this wedding, and that news didn't help matters much.

It wasn't that he was regretting marrying Anna—far from it, he had no doubts at all—he was regretting being related to his brothers. Lukas, of course, wasted no time in getting angry at him over the cake. His brothers, surprisingly, took it quite well; for a few days, he didn't feel like the bottom of the heap in the family. But soon enough, Lukas had managed to bury him under enough new insults that bringing up the cake thing was an old joke.

Now he was going to be extra critical, and he was sure he was going to get an earful of how inadequate the party was—but if that was bad, he didn't even want to imagine what was going to happen when his brother's saw Anna walking down the aisle wearing polka dots.

"Olaf…" he sat down on his bed, head in hands. "What am I going to do?"

Olaf walked over to the bed. He tried to jump on, and managed to just barely reach the top with his arms by jumping; but he just ended up hanging from the bed, feet dangling. Hans sighed, grabbing him and pulling him up.

"Thanks!" Olaf squeaked, lying back on the bed sheets. "What do you mean, what are you going to do?"

"When my brothers see her, I'll never hear the end of it! For the rest of our lives, they'll see Anna as 'Hans' crazy wife who wore spots on her wedding dress'."

"Hmmmm…." Olaf sat, resting his chin on his hand. "Let me think…" Hans didn't have much confidence in Olaf's abilities to give advice, but he waited patiently anyway.

"Aha!" Olaf snapped his twig fingers. "Do you think Anna is going to look nice at the wedding?"

"Of course I do! I mean, I haven't seen the dress yet, but I know she'll be beautiful…"

"Well, if _you_ think Anna's beautiful, why does it matter what they think?" Olaf continued. "They're not marrying her."

Hans stared at him in shock. His advice was…actually not bad. He'd spent his entire life being trained to be constantly aware of his appearance toward others; after all, he was his father's youngest, representing his family and kingdom. He constantly had to check that against Anna who, growing up alone in the palace, never had that expectation put upon her; she was free to be herself, to do whatever she felt like doing. Being with Anna was the only time Hans wasn't thinking 'what would I think, if I saw someone doing this?' like he had been taught to do when he was in public.

If his brothers weren't going to be there, would he be so upset about it? The answer was no. Surprised, maybe, and certainly shocked; but it was just Anna being the free spirit he fell in love with.

He should be grateful he was marrying a woman who would wear a dress like that.

"Did that help?" Olaf asked.

"Actually…yes. It did."

"I knew it would," Olaf said matter-of-factly. "I _am_ a love expert." He tried to jump off the bed, but the impact made the three sections of his body break apart in different directions.

"Sorry! Can you pick up my head?" Olaf asked. "And…wait…yep, my torso just got back on my legs, so just put my head back on."

Hans found it a little creepy, holding a living creature's disembodied head, but nonetheless he picked it up. Sure enough, his lower half came scurrying toward him, Olaf shouting directions on where to go since it didn't have eyes.

"Thank you!" Olaf said, shaking his head to make sure it was back on tightly. "That happens a lot; once I fell off a chair in the kitchen and my head went flying into a salad bowl. Scared the cook really bad…" he giggled at the memory, said 'bye Hans!' and waddled out of the room.

Hans waved weakly. "What…just…happened?"

He just took relationship advice from a snowman; how was he going to get through the rest of the month without going insane?


	11. Elsa and Kristoff--Thinking

**Author's Note: Well, it's winding down soon guys. Next chapter starts the wedding, and I don't plan on continuing the story past that. Here's a short chapter-Elsa struggles with herself, while Kristoff decides what to do at home. **

**Also, if you're interested in reading more stuff by me...try my new Frozen fic 'Trials of Fire'. **

Elsa had not been entirely honest with Kristoff.

She wasn't lying when she said the Leon asking her had caught her off guard. And she certainly wasn't lying when she said that she probably would have said no otherwise. But as for why…well, she would have been nervous, more than unwilling.

It had started innocently enough. Anna and Hans avoided the twelve brothers like the plague, and she was forced to entertain them. She had started talking to Leon the most because he was the most bearable of them (in fact, Hans described as being 'the only brother he didn't hate').

She had never expected those short conversations, meant to just help her keep from going crazy, to develop into a friendship. Soon Leon was stealing moments with her, alone, running into her in the market and insisting he escort her home when it got dark. In fact, for a few weeks, her weekly visits in the courtyard with Kristoff coincided with days she would spend with Leon in the market, just talking and looking in the windows of shops.

It was during one of those days that Leon had turned to face her suddenly.

"Queen Elsa," he had said, taking both her hands in his. Elsa's could only imagine how red her face must have been. "I've very much enjoyed the time we've been spending together—I don't suppose you already have an escort to your sister's wedding?" It was all so overwhelming—the warmth of his hands holding hers, his hazel eyes looking into her own, the spontaneity of it—and even though she was usually the sort of person who wasn't easily taken in by that sort of thing, she was still a _woman, _and she couldn't help but find it all thrillingly romantic. So she had said yes, and he grinned and hugged her, and for a moment she had felt like a heroine in the old romance novels she had secretly enjoyed as a child.

That had been three weeks before she had told Kristoff. She didn't know why; for some reason, telling him just seemed…wrong. Perhaps because she didn't want to rub it in his face? Or maybe it was just general awkwardness about the situation…she had no experience when it came to courting. Thinking about Leon made her stomach fill with a strange mixture of nervous excitement and dread. And whether or not they were even courting, she wasn't sure; other than holding her hand when he asked her to the wedding, he hadn't made any physical advances toward her.

She just thanked God that the awkwardness hadn't ruined her friendship with Kristoff. They still met weekly, the pretense of helping her with sculptures having since been thrown away; they were there because they enjoyed each others' company, and that was it. Elsa had been afraid, when he had asked her, that rejecting him would make things awkward…but he was still the same joking, friendly Kristoff he had always been, and for that she was thankful.

But then why did she feel so guilty?

Elsa had been the last straw for Kristoff. He had stomped into his house angrily, and then consulted with Sven late into the night. And he had finally decided; he had enough.

No more romance. No more pining after those _women_ day and night. For a few blissful weeks, things had felt so right. He was moving on from Anna, getting used to being around people more, and he had Elsa—but then Leon came in and ruined everything again. And when the feeling came afterward, like he had the wind knocked out of him, he recognized that as how he had felt the after Anna gave him the sled. He couldn't deny it anymore; he _liked_ Elsa.

But he felt like an idiot. All these months he'd spent talking to Anna and Elsa, secretly wishing he could be with them, and for what? Just to stand by as they unknowingly rubbed salt in his wounds. And he just kept coming back, like he didn't know any better, like an animal who couldn't help himself.

So he talked it over with Sven. And he finally came to the conclusion of what he should do; he would leave and sort things out. He would continue being friends with Elsa, continue being friends with Anna, but he'd get out of their hair for awhile. Maybe go into the mountains for the rest of the winter, become more of just a friend Elsa would see in the summer on his weekly ice pickup like he was at first. The point was he had to do anything, _anything_, to make himself feel like a man again. He wanted to take a pickaxe and drive it into some ice like he used to, and come home covered with sweat and soreness, with nothing going through his head but the thought of being glad he was going to have some sleep.

This conflicted heart, pining after stuff was only in cheesy romance novels where the hero was _sensitive _and didn't know how to be a real man.

In fact, it wasn't like he couldn't get a girl if he wanted to. Sure, he was no prince, but he had a prestigious job and he was pretty muscular. He would find a girl better than Anna or Elsa; one who could swing a pickaxe, and wouldn't mind him sharing his carrots with Sven.

"See, this is why reindeers are better than people…" Kristoff said to himself, collapsing on the couch. "People are so _complicated_."

It was settled then. One more week—he couldn't just blow off the wedding—and he'd be gone.


	12. The Wedding Part 1

"ABSOLUTELY!" Anna shouted, when the priest had asked her if Anna would take Hans to be her husband; she hadn't even waited for him to finish.

"….Then I suppose you should kiss the bride…" he answered, and Anna practically jumped into her fiancé's—no, husbands!—arms. Hans, on his part, laughed joyously before giving her their first kiss as husband and wife.

It had been a ceremony tailored to exactly what Anna had wanted, no matter how impractical it was. The courtyard was Anna's dream spot for a wedding. It had always just been a basic fact about her; her name was Anna, she had freckles, and she would get married in the courtyard of the castle.

The problem was the guest list. Tallying up all of the royalty that would be attending and close family friends—more friends of their parents, but Elsa felt they should still be there, it was what they would have wanted—the amount of people coming was enormous. But Anna was stubborn, like always, and through sheer will she had forced every single person to cram themselves into the courtyard for her magical outdoor wedding.

"Thank you!" Anna shouted over the throng, leading Hans by one hand as she pushed her way through the crowd. "It's great that all of you came! Thank you! "

"ANNA!" Hans shouted, "I don't think they can hear you; it's too crowded."

"EVERYONE CAN GO INTO THE BALLROOM NOW!" Anna shouted, raising her hands and motioning toward the doors. Hans and Anna narrowly avoided being run over by the crowd. Elsa had stayed behind.

"Anna," Elsa said, opening her arms wide. Anna ran into them, tears of happiness dropping onto her sister's dress. "Congratulations. It was a beautiful ceremony…and I suppose the dress didn't look so bad after all."

Anna stepped back, nodding happily. True, she had heard a few murmurs from the crowd, and Lukas did not seem to try very hard to contain his laughing. But she had accomplished what she wanted; a ceremony that would be remembered for years.

"Hans," Elsa said, walking over and hugging him as well. "I am very happy to call you a part of my family now." Hans reciprocated the hug, somewhat awkwardly, but looked pleased. It was gradual, but Anna could see that Elsa had forgiven him.

"Thank you Elsa," Hans said, "The feeling is mutual. Isn't Leon here with you?"

"I told him to go inside," Elsa answered, "And I would meet him in there. I just wanted a chance to personally congratulate you…after all; we'll be surrounded by people all night."

Suddenly, a loud crashing noise was heard. Anna's face paled. "What was that?"

"Wait here!" Hans said quickly. "I am not letting anything ruin this night Anna…I'll come get you when I find out what that was." And with that, Hans practically leaped into action.

Anna sighed happily. "I just love him…" for a moment, silence. Then, finally, she leaned into Elsa.

"So…I didn't see Kristoff with anybody," Anna said.

Elsa looked at her with suspicion. "I don't believe he came with anybody. Why?"

"…Well…I just thought…" Anna finally just asked her, "Did Kristoff ask you to go to the wedding with him?"

Elsa's eyes widened. She took a step back from Anna, her good mood replaced suddenly by discomfort. "He did mention perhaps going with me," she said slowly, carefully, "But Leon had already asked me to go."

"Oh…I was hoping you'd go with him." Anna answered.

"Well, then, you must be happy." Elsa answered.

"No," Anna said, exasperated. "I wanted you to go with Kristoff. It's pretty obvious he likes you."

Elsa couldn't help but laugh. "Oh really? What makes you so sure?"

"Please Elsa," Anna crossed her arms. "I know I can be a little impulsive—and naïve—and I can have a really short attention span—"

"And you can talk for hours before you actually get to the point." Elsa said dryly. Anna blushed in embarrassment.

"Well…yeah. But I'm not _stupid_. You both spend a lot of time together. And Kristoff hates talking to people. He has to really, really like you if he talks to you so much." She answered matter-of-factly. "Why do you think I haven't been talking to Kristoff as much?"

"You…you…_tried to set Kristoff and me up_?" Elsa said indignantly. Anna shrugged. It wasn't like she was manufacturing situations with, like, romantic music and rose petals.

"Not in a really active way," she answered. "I just, you know, gave you both room to be together without me. I thought it would be really nice…you know, my sister and one of my best friends. That's all." She toyed with the wedding ring on her finger, suddenly taking an interest in the way the diamond caught the light.

It was hard to read Elsa's face. It seemed to go through a rainbow of emotions at once—anger, confusion, contemplativeness…and, oddly enough, fear. "We should probably go back inside," she finally answered, settling on looking resigned. As if on cue, Hans had appeared in the doorway again, motioning them inside.

"I took care of it!" Hans said, grinning as he took Anna's arm in his own. "It was nothing major…just a brief fight. The Duke of Draketon hit the Duke of Weselton over the head with a plate. Apparently the Duke wanted to sneak in hoping he could catch you in a good mood and convince you to trade with him again."

"You kicked him out though?" Elsa asked, walking with them briskly.

"I kicked them both out," Hans answered, looking at his bride. "No one stays who'll cause any trouble in the least for the biggest night of my wife's life."

"Hans, you're wonderful!" Anna kissed him on the cheek. "Unless the Duke of Draketon is a major trading partner for Arendelle or something…Elsa?" But she wasn't there. As soon as they had entered the ballroom, she had disappeared; Anna scanned the room and found her, talking in quiet murmurs with Leon that she couldn't quite make out. Whatever it was, it made Elsa laugh, cast her eyes downward, and blush.

And, of course, she noticed Kristoff in the corner, looking extremely bored and uncomfortable.

Hans patted her on the shoulder, seeing how she was staring at Kristoff with a deep frown. "Anna," he said, "Don't worry about him right now, okay?"

"But he looks so _unhappy_, Hans…"

"This is about _our_ future," Hans said, adamant. "You can worry about his tomorrow." He backed away, holding a hand out. "Shall we do our first dance as husband and wife?"

Anna smiled, taking his hand. "Yes,"

And they danced.


	13. The Wedding Part 2

Kristoff was really wishing he was the Duke of Draketon at that moment, because he did not want to be there.

He went to the ceremony for Anna's sake. And, sure enough, when she saw him as she walked down the aisle her smile was so wide he was surprised she didn't pull a muscle or something. Kristoff felt…okay though. Not sad, watching Anna getting married or even hurt seeing Elsa with Leon. He just felt kind of numb to the whole situation now, like his heart had been burned out from all the conflicted emotions.

_ Just a few more hours_, he thought, _and it's back to the mountains with Sven_.

Now he was just bored. He didn't dance, so that wasn't an option—not to mention, he knew pretty much no one there, so who would he ask anyway? Doing it alone would look pathetic. So he stood on the edges of the room, sweating profusely in his uncomfortable tuxedo he had remembered at the last minute, and just watched everyone else.

Of course, Anna and Hans were having a fantastic time. They were doing a really weird wedding dance he'd seen them practicing before ("We were joking around once, the night we met," Anna had told him, "And made this dance up. We thought it'd be fun to do at the party!") and though it made them look like their joints seemed to be locked in place or something, he had to admit it looked kind of cool.

And, although he tried not to do it, he found himself looking at Elsa and Leon. She seemed to be trying not to laugh too loudly at something she was saying.

You know what? Screw it. He had to get through this party, and he and Elsa were still friends right? He needed to talk to _somebody _or else he'd go insane. He edged closer to the two and waited for an opening to talk.

"So, my father told my brother Oskar to get on a boat immediately," Kristoff heard Leon say, "And he gave him all the gold, jewels, and money he could carry."

"What happened then?" Elsa asked.

"Well, they sailed for four weeks to get to Corona," he said, chuckling. "And when they got there they met the new princess. He spent a few days talking to her, and he showered her with all the gifts he had brought—and she was eating it up—and Oskar was sure she was going to say yes to his marriage proposal…but when she asked him…she told him she was already with someone the entire time!" he slapped his knee laughing, and Elsa just had a look of disbelief and amusement.

"So she only pretended to be available so she could be showered with gifts?" she said. "That's a bit…underhanded."

"No, no," Leon said, shaking his head quickly. "That's the best part. She had _no idea_ that he was trying to court her! She just thought he was giving him those gifts to be nice! I mean, we had heard she wasn't very familiar with the outside world…but we didn't think she was _that _oblivious!"

Now, Kristoff couldn't help it. He laughed a little bit; it was kind of a ridiculous story, wasn't it? Then he realized, too late, Elsa would hear him and realize he was eavesdropping. Leon and Elsa looked at him.

"Oh, uh…hi guys," He said, giving a small wave awkwardly. "I mean, I overheard what Leon was saying...you know what that sounded like?" Kristoff finally said. "Sounded like something Anna would do."

Elsa laughed, and Kristoff was very relieved that he managed to smooth over the awkward entrance into the conversation. "It does, doesn't it? Maybe not though…Anna is such a romantic after all, isn't she?"

"She would have probably proposed to _him_ if he had done that," Kristoff said, eliciting another laugh from the queen. Leon cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Elsa," he asked, "Who is this?"

"Oh! Leon, this is my friend Kristoff. He's royal Ice Master and Deliverer." Kristoff held out his hand and Leon shook it, stiffly.

"Does that title even mean anything?" he asked.

"Not in the winter," Kristoff answered, "So the vacation time is great."

The two stared at each other for a few moments, looking suspicious of one another.

Elsa was looking increasingly uncomfortable. "I…I'm going to go and see if the wedding cake is ready to be cut," Elsa said, "Leon, can you wait here? I hate having to leave you here, but you know…"

"Have to make sure it's running smoothly," He finished. "Do what you have to Elsa. I'll be waiting."

Elsa wasted no time in leaving.

"She seemed kind of uncomfortable," Kristoff said to himself, and Leon assumed he was talking to him.

"She didn't say anything about you to me," he said. "I suppose that was why."

"Well…uh, having a nice time with Elsa?" Kristoff asked. Why was he even talking to this guy? He was bored, but he didn't realize he was this bored.

"Well, she refuses to dance," Leon answered, shrugging. "So we haven't really been doing anything but talking. But she seems very intelligent…certainly more than the princess Oskar tried to marry in Corona."

"Mmm-hmm," Kristoff grunted, and was about to make an excuse to walk away.

"Of course," Leon continued, "Not marrying a dancer is a small price to pay for the chance to be king,"

Kristoff tensed. "You…you asked Elsa to the wedding because you wanted a shot at king?"

"Well, that wasn't the only reason," Leon said. "I do find her interesting. But Hans was sent here to try and marry Elsa in the first place before he settled for Anna instead. I thought I should try and take a chance at her since she was still available. I don't think Hans would have succeeded anyway; not strategic enough. Queen Elsa needs someone who's patient, someone who can learn what she enjoys and act accordingly—"

"You're a jerk," Kristoff snapped. Leon did not look insulted; in fact, he smiled.

"I'm sorry; I know it's hard for you to grasp your head around." He answered, shaking his head. "After all, you wouldn't know what it's like among royalty. Do you think _any_ marriage is completely for love?"

"That doesn't mean—"

"Did you even know that Elsa's parents were in an arranged marriage?" he continued, "And Hans met Anna because he was trying to secure a politically beneficial marriage with Elsa. Marrying for love is foolish, when you can marry someone you like and gain something out of it."

"So let me get this straight," Kristoff said slowly, "You don't hate Elsa, but are only doing this because a marriage with her would be beneficial to _you_."

"Absolutely," he said, as though there was nothing odd about that at all.

"And," he continued, "You've been making some stuff about yourself up so she would like you?"

Leon nodded. He would have said something, but he didn't get the chance; that was when Kristoff punched him.


	14. The Wedding Part 3

The Wedding Part 3

Elsa wasn't lying when she said she had to check on the wedding cake. Normally that wouldn't have been an issue, but she'd been told by Leon that Lukas let slip a few times that he would do…something to the cake. Probably to get back at Hans for smashing it in his face, he had suggested.

But she was glad for the excuse to get away; while Kristoff knew about Leon, she'd made sure that she was never with him when she was talking to Kristoff, and vice versa. Leon didn't even know who Kristoff was. She just didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of a male suitor meeting one of her closest friends; she didn't know exactly why, except that she wasn't looking forward to the male posturing that would inevitably accompany it. But things seemed to be working out fine, right? They talked, and they seemed to be getting along civilly when she left them. She was probably overreacting.

"Oh, that's just childish," Elsa said, rolling her eyes. Sure enough, something was done to the cake; scribbled on it (with a finger, by the looks of it) were a few…choice words about the bride and groom. Words that would have made Elsa's mother and father wash her mouth out with soap if she said them.

It was easily fixable, at least. Carefully, she started wiping the icing with her finger, smoothing it over so the words weren't visible anymore. Luckily, it wasn't anything worse than that—

"ELSA! YOUR FRIEND JUST _ATTACKED_ ME!"

_Oh no_, Elsa thought. Turning around, the entire ballroom had fallen totally silent. They stared at the two men; Leon, clutching his nose, and Kristoff, hand still balled in a fist. He looked shocked, like he couldn't believe he had actually done that.

"What happened?" Elsa gasped. She walked briskly across the room; she could see Anna, a hand over her mouth, and Hans rubbed her back in small circles trying to calm her.

"You're friend," Leon spat, taking his hands off his nose, "Punched me in the face!"  
"Why?"  
"Why?" Leon shouted, "Why does it matter _why_? He attacked me! I want that maniac," he pointed a finger at Kristoff accusatorily. "Thrown out of here!"

Hans seemed to want to interject, but didn't know what to say. Elsa could guess why; side with his brother, and he would be going against Anna's friend. Side with Kristoff, and he had to deal with the reactions of his brothers. Anna seemed to be struggling with the similar problem.

Elsa would have to deal with this herself, wouldn't she? Oh, wonderful.

"Kristoff, why did you punch Leon?"

Leon tried to shout 'why does that matter' again, but Elsa gave him a death glare and he fell silent.

"Elsa…" Kristoff shook his head. He seemed to be trying to figure out if he should say. Finally, he took a deep breath. "He…he called you a political gain. He said he was trying to pretend to be everything you wanted so he could marry you. Like getting you to like him was a…a…game or something!" he tensed with anger, then relaxed.

"You deserve better Elsa," he finished. "I'm sorry." She couldn't tell if she meant better than Leon, or him.

"Leon," Elsa asked softly. "Is that true?"

Leon didn't answer.

"Your nose doesn't even look bruised," Elsa continued. "I don't think he even punched you that hard."

"You're not kicking him out?" Leon asked indignantly.

"Frankly," she snapped, "You deserved it."

Several people looked like they were trying not to laugh.

"And the rest of you," she said, raising her voice, "Why are you staring? There's nothing here to see!" and, slowly, the party regained momentum and the moment was forgotten.

Anna ran over to Kristoff. "Kristoff! Hans didn't want to take sides, but whatever you did, I'm sure he deserved it—"

Kristoff shook his head. "You know what? I think it's best that I…I leave anyway."

And he pushed past Anna and Elsa, out the door.

"Kristoff, wait!" Elsa shouted, but he ignored her. Anna looked at Elsa.

"Told you he likes you," she answered simply. "And I think you're the only one that could convince him to come back." And Anna just shook her head sadly, returning to her husband.

Elsa was about to run, when a hand grabbing her arm stopped her.

"Elsa," Leon said, "Let me explain—"

"Explain what?" she said bitterly, "That everything Kristoff said was a complete lie? Because that is the only thing will keep me from leaving. Now."

"Elsa," Leon said. He took her hands, the same way he had when he had asked her to go to the wedding with him. This time, it didn't feel romantic to her; she felt constricted. "Elsa, I wish I could. But I can't. I did say that it was great, that you were the queen of Arendelle. And originally that was my only intention. But just because that is a bonus to being with you…doesn't mean that I don't like you. I'm not pretending to find you intelligent, and beautiful, and graceful. I'm not lying when I say I am thrilled when I get to see you. I'm begging you; just…just give me a chance to prove that to you. That the feelings I have for you aren't fake."

She looked into his eyes. It would be so easy to say yes to him; then she could have everything Anna had; the fairytale prince, the perfect wedding, maybe, one day, even the husband that most women only dreamed about since they were girls but never had.

And she thought of Kristoff; how he always smelled like reindeer; how, even dressing formally, his blond hair always had at least a few pieces sticking out, which was kind of endearing. How he had come to a party that he obviously _hated_, because he knew she and Anna would want him there. With him she'd have to contest with stares, and murmurs of disapproval; Kristoff was a commoner, an ice harvester. He had no place in the world of royalty and politics, was not a fitting match for her when there were dozens of willing princes whose marriages would make Arendelle even more prosperous.

But if he left now, she had a feeling she would never speak with to him again. Punching your date wasn't something that you could just pretend never happened; either he'd have to talk about it (and Kristoff wasn't one to talk about deep things) or he'd just leave. And the thought of that scared Elsa.

"That may be true, Leon," she said, jerking her hands away. "But I know the truth; you wouldn't even consider me if I wasn't royalty." She sighed, and turned her back to him. "I'm not mad at you; my own parents were in an arranged marriage. It's just a part of being queen. But you could have at least made your reasons clear."

And with that, she ran after Kristoff.


	15. The Wedding Part 4

**Author's Note: So, here it is guys. The last chapter. They'll be a short epilogue after this, but it's pretty much over at this point. Thank you everyone who followed, faved, and reviewed! ****So I guess what I wanted to ask you all was...what was your favorite chapter? Your least favorite? I want to know why!  
**

Kristoff whistled a short, sharp sound as he entered the courtyard. Sven ran into the courtyard as fast his hooves could carry him. He hadn't been allowed into the party (he had asked, but for once Hans refused to do it no matter what Anna wanted) but Kristoff had him waiting close by so he could get on his back and leave quickly.

"Things went badly," Kristoff said, swinging his leg over Sven's back. Sven snorted sympathetically. "Let's stop by the house, pick up the sled, and we'll head out right now. He spurred Sven on, and he tried to run; but suddenly something was blocking the entrance to the outside.

"What…?" Kristoff got off, banging the new thing blocking their path. He groaned, realizing what it was—and what that meant. "Ice!"

"You like it?" Elsa asked. Kristoff turned around to face her. "I froze the door that leads back inside shut, so Leon couldn't chase me out here. It's just us."

"Why'd you follow me?" he asked, leaning against the ice wall. It was cold, but he didn't care.

"I don't blame you for punching Leon," she said, "You were right. I should have never gone to the wedding with him."

"Well, it's okay," Kristoff said bitterly, "You've got all of those other men to choose from, right? I bet they'll line up for you when they find out you're available."

Elsa looked at him, taking a deep breath, looking exhausted.

"I remember when I first learned that my parents were in an arranged marriage…" Elsa said, ignoring Kristoff's remark. "I was…very upset to say the least."

Kristoff couldn't help but seem interested in spite of himself. "Why?"

"Well, the idea absolutely baffled me," Elsa answered. "Imagine, being forced to marry a man because your parents told you to. I asked my father 'does that mean you and mama don't really love each other?' Do you know what my father answered?" she asked, but it was rhetorical, and she continued.

"He said, of course he did. He told me 'love can come in even the most unlikely of circumstances Elsa'—of course, I never really believed that. I thought they were just lucky to have been a good match. But I accepted that whoever I married, they would have to be royalty. But I promised myself it would be my choice-not an arranged marriage." She took a step toward him.

"Of course, when I was a child and thought about whom it would be—which I didn't a lot, but it crossed my mind—I always imagined what most little girls did; you know, someone rich, handsome—"

"—Like Leon," Kristoff interrupted, bitterness creeping into his voice again.

"Yes. You know…someone that would be easy to be with. No one would question why I would choose them." She stopped again. Kristoff was starting to feel uneasy—because Elsa was looking uneasy. She actually looked like she was going to pass out.

"Elsa, are you okay?"

She took a shaky breath; she looked terrified, but managed to speak more or less without a tremor in her voice. "I think I could spin _this_ in a way that would make the kingdom approving, however."

Kristoff's eyes widened, his casual stance becoming more rigid. Even Sven, who was watching, now looked absolutely fascinated. Somehow, Kristoff could feel himself starting to sweat even though he was pressed against ice.

"What…what do you mean?" he asked. Elsa took another step closer.

"Well, you know," she said, smiling, seeming to gain a little more courage. "I would just have to emphasize that you were the brave, handsome, and heroic man who guided Anna in her journey to save Arendelle. Not that I feel the need to convince myself you're worthy," she added quickly, "But, you know, it would keep my advisers from bothering me about it every single day. And put a stop to all the marriage proposals—"

"Elsa…" Kristoff breathed, "What are you saying?"

At this Elsa looked nervous again, but gained her nerve more quickly than before. She closed most of the distance between them—now she was so close, right in front of him, and she seemed to look down at the ground, unable to meet his eyes.

"That…that you're the only person who's made me feel _normal_, Kristoff," Elsa said. "You met me, and you actually wanted to know _me_. You weren't trying to become my friend for any other reason than that you liked me. With you, I can be _Elsa_. Not Elsa, Queen of Arendelle. I…" She tried to search for more words, but they didn't come. "I just like you, okay?" she finally said.

It was the most overwhelming feeling Kristoff had ever experienced. She was looking into his eyes now—and suddenly she was _all _he could see. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight, her platinum hair was starting to fall around her eyes, and Kristoff had the sudden desire to take it, to brush it out of her face gently so that he could feel her skin…

There was something else he saw in her face. Elsa looked…afraid. Of what? That Kristoff would run? First of all, he couldn't if he wanted to thanks to her. That, and there was no way Kristoff was leaving.

He didn't think he ever would leave Arendelle again.

But he had to…to say something. Or do something…? But he couldn't. It was like she was overloading his brain. He closed his eyes and, faintly, he heard the sound of music being played in the ballroom—

"Let's dance," Kristoff blurted out. For a moment he was afraid that Elsa would take that as him rejecting her—and he was not. He just…wanted to dance with her. To hold her, he guessed.

Elsa, luckily, laughed. "Dance? You know I don't dance, Kristoff. And I thought you didn't either." He could feel her breath as she talked.

"Well, maybe I just needed to find a girl I wanted to dance with," Kristoff answered. It sounded cheesy, but then again, who cared at this point? "Plus, neither of us dances, so I don't have to worry about being bad at it." He sidestepped past her, and then held out a hand in a mock bow.

"I would be honored if I could dance with you, Queen Elsa," Kristoff said, purposefully sounding as proper as he could. Elsa put a hand to her mouth and smiled.

"Well…one dance couldn't hurt, could it?" she finally said, and took his hand. Kristoff tried to remember what he had seen in the ballroom; his hand should go on her back, his other hand should be holding hers, and she put one hand on his waist.

"Wow, you are _really_ good for someone who doesn't dance," Kristoff said once they got started.

"Well, I still had to learn, since I was a princess." Elsa answered, concentrating hard on her feet. They kept going, and Kristoff thought he was doing well for himself. And then…he stepped on her foot. And in stepping on her feet, they tripped.

"OW! You see Kristoff? This is why I don't dance!" Elsa sat up, getting up from off of Kristoff, who she landed on top of. She rubbed her head.

"Hey, I'm sorry! What do you want me to say?" he held a hand out to her after he had gotten up, but Elsa didn't take it.

"And now I have dirt all over my dress," Elsa complained, trying to brush it off. "Now I'll have to change my dress, and everyone is going to see me covered in dirt when I go back inside—"

And that was when Kristoff grabbed her and kissed her. It was an interesting feeling; partly it felt warm, like a kiss should make him feel, but it was mixed with the natural coldness of Elsa's lips. Sven gave an approving neigh, and Kristoff looked in his direction for a moment, trying to say 'shut up' with his eyes. Luckily, his friend got the message.

"It's not that bad," Kristoff finally answered when they broke apart. "Plus, you can make new clothes in two seconds, right? With your ice powers?"

Elsa just stared at him, breathing heavily. "Or…we don't have to go back in right now…wait!" she shook her head, like she was coming out of being put under a spell. "Kristoff, if you think that is going to make me forget that you ruined my clothes—"

And Kristoff just laughed, and the rest of her sentenced was muffled by the fabric of his tuxedo as he pulled her close to him. Any actual anger that Elsa was feeling melted away in that moment and she clutched his arms as though he might try and leave.

"You're going to thank me," she finally said, looking up at him.

"Really? Why is that?"

She ran her fingers up his chest, her palm cupping his cheek. "Because," she said, "I know you can't wait to get out of that tuxedo—"

Kristoff's eyebrows shot up.

"—and I don't want to go back to that party," Elsa finished hastily, blushing when she realized how it sounded at first. "Why don't we both just leave? We'll have to go back in and tell Anna first, of course, but I don't have the energy to deal with them anymore."

Kristoff grinned. "Man, she is going to be freaking out," he said. Then he laced his fingers through hers.

"We'll be back in a few minutes, Sven," Kristoff said. "Elsa, you have not _lived_ until you've ridden through town on the back of a reindeer."

And Elsa burst into a fit of giggles as they both went back inside.


	16. Epilogue

**Author's Note: So this is it guys. The final installment of the story; so, I just want to thank every single one of you who enjoyed it! Two things. One: Like I said before, tell me which chapter was your favorite/least favorite and why! I'd love to know. **

"Isn't he beautiful, Kristoff?" Elsa asked, cradling the baby in her arms. Kristoff, who was sitting on a chair near the baby's crib, nodded.

"He is," Kristoff answered. "I'm glad Anna and Hans finally trusted us to look after him."

Elsa smiled, swaying him gently. "I know. They really needed some time to themselves, didn't they? Though I can't blame them for not wanting to leave Adam…"

It had been a difficult two years for Hans and Anna. Just like they were quick to want to get married, they quick in deciding they wanted to start a family. When after almost a year nothing happened, the two had grown concerned. After months of consulting physicians, and even at one point a magic potion Kristoff had given them from the trolls (which tasted like dirt and moss, and all it seemed to succeed in doing was making Anna feel sick) they had finally gotten pregnant, and given birth to their son Adam a month ago.

Of course, after all the effort it had taken to have him, Anna hadn't wanted to leave. Even today, when she finally decided she needed to take a day off, it had taken her almost half an hour of tearfully kissing her son and cradling him before she was finally able to hand him to Elsa.

Kristoff got up, walking over to the queen and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah...can I hold him?"

She looked at her nephew's sleeping face for a moment, before reluctantly saying "Okay, you can for a moment."

Kristoff accepted the small bundle, and Elsa was pleased to see that he was treating Adam delicately. He stirred in his sleep, blinking sleepily and opening his large, green eyes.

"I think he's going to be more like Anna." Kristoff said, as Adam began reaching out his chubby arms and feeling his face. "Has her freckles too," he finished with a nasally voice, as Adam had at this point grabbed Kristoff's nose and began squeezing it, gurgling happily.

"Kristoff!" Elsa chided, "Don't let him do that. Now he'll think it's okay to do with everyone."

"Elsa, he's a baby, not a puppy," Kristoff said, rolling his eyes. "You don't train babies."

"Still…"

"And if he is more like Anna, who says he'll listen?" he asked. Elsa smiled.

"I guess that's true." Elsa said, smiling softly. She looked at Kristoff, crossing her arms in front of her; she seemed to be lost in thought, gazing at the wall.

"Thinking about something?" Kristoff asked gently.

"What…? Oh, not really. Just…"

"Does it have anything to do with us?" Kristoff asked. Elsa tensed.

"I need to get a clean blanket for Adam," Elsa said, walking past Kristoff and to the cupboard on the wall. "Kristoff, you should probably set him down in his crib. Anna told us he takes his nap now."

Kristoff still pressed the issue. "Elsa, you know, someone asked me in the market the other day," he placed Adam in the crib. "If it was true that I and the Queen of Arendelle were 'living in sin'."

Elsa gasped. "The nerve! What did you say?"

"Well, I said 'I wish, but no'." he answered, laughing.

Elsa paused from her task of unfolding the blanket she had found to glare at him. "Kristoff!"

"I know, I know that wasn't _proper_ for me to say," he said, putting his hands up. "But, you know when you've been with someone for two years; you could see why people would ask that, right?"

Elsa sighed. She walked to the crib herself, carefully tucking Adam in. "Kristoff, is there a reason you're telling me this?" she asked.

"…Yes," Kristoff admitted. "Elsa, do you love me?"

Elsa looked at him with surprise. Kristoff wasn't exactly the romantic type; she certainly couldn't remember him ever asking that before.

"Of course I do, Kristoff," she said softly. She turned to face him, her hands resting at his waist. "How could you ask me that?"

"I don't know," Kristoff answered, maybe because you said no?"

"Kristoff, I didn't say _no_, I just—"

"Said you needed time to think about it," Kristoff answered. "I know. But why do you need to think? I just…" he took a deep breath. He settled his hands on the ones around his waist.

"I just want to marry you, Elsa," Kristoff finished lamely. "I really, really do. Is there something wrong with me?"

"No Kristoff, of course not!" Elsa flinched, darting her eyes toward the crib. Adam, luckily, hadn't woken up.

"There's nothing wrong with you," she said again in a whisper. "It's me."

"You?" Kristoff lifted his hands, holding her face. "Elsa, how could there be anything wrong with you? You're perfect. I promise." He kissed her. "What makes you think that?"

"It's just…oh, how do I explain it? With a marriage…come…children Kristoff," Elsa finally finished.

"Why is that a bad thing?…Oh," Kristoff paused. "You're afraid they'll have your powers, aren't you?"

Elsa seemed to shudder. "Y-yes; and I feel horrible about doing this to you, Kristoff. You deserve a wife. But if we get married…I can't just…not do anything with you." She blushed deeply. "But I can't stand the thought of a child having my powers Kristoff; it would be _cruel_. I couldn't knowingly give a child this burden."

Kristoff held Elsa close; he rubbed her back in small circles, trying to calm her, as she was growing increasingly upset.

"You know I love you, Kristoff," she kept saying, "Please don't think that I don't."

"Hey, listen, calm down, alright?" Kristoff said soothingly. "I know you do, I'm sorry I said that. But listen; it would be different with us. I know it would. Because you know how we can control our powers now, right?"

"That doesn't mean it's not a _curse_."

"It isn't a curse," Kristoff said adamantly. "It's a gift, when you use the way you do. Look at what you've done; you make ice in the summer for people to use, you make art, you even make ice skating rinks for children, Elsa."

Her breathing became more even.

"We know how to control your powers," Kristoff said again. "Love, remember?"

Elsa nodded.

"We won't make the same mistakes that your parents did. We'll be prepared."

For a moment Elsa said nothing. "...They would be able to go outside." She said softly.

"Absolutely!" Kristoff agreed. Elsa uncoiled her hands from Kristoff's waist, stepping back toward the crib. She looked down at the sleeping child inside, smiling wistfully.

"It's very nice watching him," she said, "But I can't wait for Anna and Hans to get back. I need to get some rest; we're going to have a long day tomorrow."

Kristoff put his arms around from behind, kissing her cheek. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for instance," Elsa said, turning and wrapping her arms around his neck. "We have a wedding to start planning."


End file.
